The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Monday afternoon that they have signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.
We have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with catcher Joe Hudson, which includes an invitation to big league camp.
— Pirates (@Pirates) January 25, 2021
The 29-year-old Hudson has three cups of coffee in the majors with three different clubs. He played eight games for the 2018 Los Angeles Angels and went 2-for-12 at the plate. He played one game for the St Louis Cardinals in 2019. He played nine games for the Seattle Mariners last year and he went 3-for-17 with three singles and two walks. He was a sixth round pick of the Cincinnati Reds out of Notre Dame in 2012. Hudson has been known as a defensive specialist, with some outstanding caught stealing rates in the minors throughout the years. He’s never hit in the minors for average or power, and doesn’t run well either as you would expect from a catcher, but the glove has been strong enough to get him to the majors with three different teams.
The Pirates have Jacob Stallings as the starter this year and they picked up Michael Perez from the Tampa Bay Rays early this off-season. Those two will likely form the big league catching squad, while Hudson, Andrew Susac, Christian Kelley, Jason Delay, Arden Pabst and Deon Stafford will be vying for the Triple-A/Double-A time.
